'It absolutely makes no sense:' Hidalgo County health authority reacts to new CDC guidelines
The Hidalgo County health authority reacted to U.S. health officials cutting isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days.
According to the guidelines, if those testing positive for Covid and aren’t experiencing symptoms, they can leave their home after five days.
RELATED: US officials recommend shorter COVID isolation, quarantine
“It absolutely makes no sense,” Hidalgo County Health authority Dr. Ivan Melendez said of the guidelines. “My recommendations to our commissioner’s court and my stance on it that we should maintain the 10-day quarantine period if you test positive…and we revisit in two weeks. If we see the numbers support the CDC recommendation, then we can consider it. But today, I absolutely disagree."
More than 75% of eligible Hidalgo County residents are fully vaccinated against Covid.
This week, Hidalgo County has reported 747 new cases of the disease.
RELATED: Hidalgo County reports one unvaccinated death, 400 positive cases of COVID-19
Dr. Melendez said he's concerned about the rate of diabetes and obesity in the area, both of which are considered risk factors for severe illness.